


The Boy Most Likely ...

by genagirl



Category: The Sentinel
Genre: Angst, Established Relationship, Humor, M/M, Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-09
Updated: 2013-09-09
Packaged: 2017-12-26 02:44:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/960638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/genagirl/pseuds/genagirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>High school reunions are a bitch, aren't they?</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Boy Most Likely ...

The Boy Most Likely - gena 

YOU MIGHT ALREADY BE A MILLIONAIRE! 

The prospect did not fill Blair Sandburg with the giddy delirium Ed McMahon's grinning face seemed designed to inspire. He tossed the letter away without a twinge of remorse and rifled through the remaining envelopes. Only one, a slender, white missive with Mr. James J. Ellison, 852 Prospect, Apt. 307, Cascade, WA 98211 held any appeal. It wasn't the crisp font or the business like approach which caught his eye, but the return address. Cascade Alumni Association, now that sounded promising. He put it on top the pile, and went to prepare supper before Jim made it home. He was just setting the table which his partner entered the loft.

"Hey, Jim," Blair called. Ellison smiled, a tired, slightly wan smile, but a spark kindled in his eyes as he breathed in the scent of oven-roasted chicken and the sight of his partner.

"Hey, Chief. Smells good." He hung up his coat and kicked off his shoes, predictable actions which made Blair grin, then padded into the kitchen. "I could eat a horse."

"Sorry, chicken was the best I could do." One look at Ellison's exhausted face and he opened his arms in the familiar welcome he knew Jim needed. It made his chest ache, his heart so full that he feared it might explode. The trust and need written so clearly on his lover's features would not have been evident to anyone but him but he knew Ellison better than anyone ever had, ever would. Jim never permitted this vulnerable side to show, the old beliefs of what men should and shouldn't do and be too deeply ingrained to be ignored. Even with Blair he maintained his camouflage, denying any pain, any fear if asked directly. Only this way, with Blair silently offering what he longed for, could Jim accept comfort and pretend it was for Sandburg's sake. Jim relaxed into his embrace, leaning heavily against him. They stood that way for a long time, Blair rubbing wide circles across Jim's back, running his fingers up and down the muscled flanks, his chin pressed hard against Jim's chest. Slowly the tension in Ellison's shoulders ebbed, draining away completely with an audible sigh. Jim loved to be held, he loved Blair's touch and could spend hours with his eyes closed, letting Blair explore his body or simply wrapped around Sandburg like a living blanket. But by far hugging was his favorite and he did it as no one else ever had; arms around Blair's shoulders, his face buried against Blair's throat, he seemed to soak in his lover's soul. Blair felt his heart quicken and a throb begin in his groin. Jim chuckled, a moist warmth across his collarbone, and one hand slipped down to massage his ass. 

"Miss me?" Jim asked.

"Oh, a little I guess," Blair said. They pulled apart, and the weariness in Ellison's face only served to accent the love in his eyes. "Why don't you sit down and I'll finish this?" Blair said. Ellison leaned over, kissing his cheek then headed for the table. He picked up the short stack of letters as he passed the end of the counter and Blair heard a groan as Jim saw the one on top. "What's wrong?"

"Class reunion," Jim said. He looked up, his mouth had taken on a sour twist and his brows drew together in a frown. "You know what I hate about spring?" Jim asked and without giving his lover a chance to answer said, "hay fever and class reunions. Both can make you wish you were dead?"

"You don't want to go?" Blair carried two plates to the table, sitting at Jim's side and plucking the letter out of his hand. "Twenty years! Wow, man, that's so long ago!" A big hand cuffed him on the head and retrieved the paper. Blair grinned and they fell to eating, conversation turning to the day's activities and weekend plans. So it wasn't until the meal ended and the dishes were done that Blair could get back to the letter's contents. 

"You really don't want to go?" They had nestled on the couch together, Blair tucked in the corner, reading, with Jim draped in a boneless sprawl over his torso, his head resting on Blair's stomach as he watched the muted TV. Blair breathed in the clean masculine scent which clung to his lover and enjoyed the peculiar thrill sheltering the bigger man afforded him. He'd always supposed, in the daydreams before they became lovers, that Jim would dominate him, but more often than not it was the other way around. Ellison's desire for physical contact, and the intimacy touching brought seemed almost more important to him than sex. Worried that his own voracious appetite might scare Jim away, he'd held back, kissing and cuddling in bed and initiating sex only when the need became too great to ignore. Jim proved tender and giving and would willingly offer his mouth or ass for plunder but as time went on, Blair began to feel more like a rapist than a lover and things got bad between them. He'd pulled away and Jim, confused and frightened, had become angry and abrasive. Weeks passed and things deteriorated until neither really looked at the other. And then one day, Jim came through the door and the light fell over him, making him seem like some forgotten angel and Blair couldn't believe he was going to lose this beautiful man, the only person he had ever loved.

"You're gorgeous," had been the impetus for saving the best thing in either of their lives. Jim had turned slowly, eyes glittering wetly. "Gorgeous?" he repeated. "Come on, Sandburg. You don't have to pretend, I won't kick you out or anything." The resignation in his voice had chilled Blair to the bone, making him want to cry out and stop the words but Jim went on. "I know you don't want some middle aged, mean spirited, balding cop but you're the only person who every gave me hope," he paused, throat working painfully as he met Blair's eye, "you made me feel like someone could stick with me, could - love me." Hurt, betrayal, and a sorrow so deep radiated from him in waves, making Blair want only to gather Jim into his arms and never let him go. Somehow, red-faced and stammering, he'd admitted how he felt as if he used Jim and Ellison, equally hesitantly but a glimmer of hope rising from the ashes of his soul, admitted he wanted to be used "I want you to take it all from me, Blair," Jim whispered, "the only time I feel like I belong is when you're taking me. I hear you saying you love me, you need me, and I'm flying high. I want that, Blair, I want you to want me so bad it drives you crazy!." Blair suspected his insatiable desire to possess Jim, coupled with his lover's need to submit was really part of the unique bond which had drawn them together. He stopped short of attributing it to the sentinel thing, but part of him wondered it all sentinel's and guides were lovers. Whatever it was, it was real and they worked out the details, making them both happier than they could ever remember being before. If Jim wanted to cuddle, they would cuddle, if he wanted to fuck Ellison through the mattress, that's what they did and it was right. 

And to be fair, Blair introduced Ellison to the erotic and sensual delights of intimate massage. Knowing what he could do to his lover through the magic of Jim's heightened senses, as soon as Ellison got that look in his eyes, the twitchy on edge glance which said he needed to make contact, Blair would begin one of those endless sessions. He could keep Jim on the edge for as long as he wanted, lavishing his lover's senses with scent as well as touch. When it finally ended, both men were well sated and reduced to little more than puddles of goo. And Jim loved it, for days afterward the slightest touch between them would have Ellison blissed out of his mind and Blair reveling in the trust his lover granted him. None of which meant Jim didn't like mind blowing sex - he could do things no other human being had ever done to Blair - things which made him scream until his throat was raw, but given the choice he would rather curl around Blair like a great big cat and enjoy the peace and quiet of just being together. But the peace and quiet fled when Ellison raised his head and peered at him with lifted brows. Something unhappy gleamed in his eye before he gave a half hearted shrug. 

"What?" Blair demanded, "why'd you look at me like that?"

"I just wanted to see if you were kidding."

"Kidding? Why would I be yanking your chain on this?" 

Jim sighed and pulled himself up out of Blair's arms. Blair shivered, he enjoyed his living blanket and not just for the warmth Jim's body produced. "Everyone's going to go to it, Chief. All the old rivalries, the insecurities, the cliques, I just don't know if I want to put myself through it." 

Blair stared at him a moment, "at most of the schools I went to the other kids would make fun of me." Blair could actually see the anger build in his lover's eyes but stopped it with a quick kiss of Jim's mouth. Pulling back he said, "go get your yearbook. I want to see the 70's version of my Jimmy."

"The 70's weren't kind to me, Chief," Jim warned, "I was a fashion victim." Blair gave a theatrical shudder but shoved his lover off the couch anyway. Ellison grinned and headed up the stairs for the book. Blair sensed Jim's continued desire for intimacy when he came back. He clutched a slender, oversized book covered in imitation leather in both hands and afforded Blair an uncertain smile. Sandburg opened his arms, Jim laid back, letting Blair enfold him in his arms, and traced sensitive fingers over the embossed legend on the front. The Royal. The pages were filled with black and white images; basketball games, parades, dances, assemblies, and smiling teenagers in dated outfits. Jim flipped quickly to the back and here the photos were in color, a senior perk for which parents didn't mind paying extra. 

Blair's eye chased down the lines of coolly smiling faces until it fell on Jim's. For just a minute he couldn't breathe and his heart gave a funny little lurch in his chest. Here was his lover, his Jim and yet - it wasn't. The sharp angles and planes of this face had yet to be worn away by age and experience and a sandy cloud of hair tumbled with casual indifference over Jim's high forehead. It was when he looked into the clear blue eyes that Blair saw the deeper changes time had wrought on his lover. There was a newness in this gaze, a sense of promise and innocence untouched by tragedy, free of sorrow and untainted by madness. 

Madness. His mind shied around the word as if just the thought of it might somehow call it into form. It lurked, vague and insubstantial, in Jim's psyche, visible only in strong flashes of emotion. Blair was use to being his lover's barometer, the touchstone Jim used for "normal" but frustration and the constant reminder of just how different he experienced the world made him lash out at Sandburg. Sometimes it all seemed to come to a head and those were the times Blair realized just how much Jim needed him around and how frightening it was for a man like Ellison to recognize his dependence. Constantly craving the unique closeness they shared yet resentful of the very fact it existed, Jim seesawed through his life, off balance and in danger of falling. The mercurial temper, the hurtful words he flung like stones were part of the darkness inside him as were the soul deep devotion and breathless love he showered upon Blair. Both were flip sides of madness and each day Blair fear something might happen and his gentle lover would perish into the darkness. The very thought of such things, left Blair sick with grief, poisoned by the knowledge that his lover's fate rested in his hands. Gazing into that innocent face, Blair knew a sorrow so deep he would have wept if he'd been alone. Jim had started in life with the capacity for greatness, given understanding and guidance he could have fulfilled his destiny and lived a normal life. But he'd been damaged, his senses caged and repressed, whole years of his memory shut away, and when his senses had come back to him, fully developed and undeniable, they had set him teetering on the very edge of his endurance. Had it been luck or something else which had brought them together? Blair smiled to himself, knowing whatever it was - it was unbreakable. 

So absorbed was he in his lover's past, that only the flesh and blood man's soft chuckle brought Blair back to the present. Jim's big hand lay on one of the slick pages, fingers splayed as they tapped restlessly over a pair of identically pretty faces. "Janet and Janie, I think," he was saying, "I could never tell them apart..." The determined look on Jim's face made Blair smile.

"So, lover, did you ever - you know, make an Ellison sandwich?" he teased. "Two pretty cheerleaders and you the big football hero, must have been some wild pep rallies." A faint blush rose in Jim's cheeks and he got that put upon expression Blair knew so well. It secretly amazed him how Jim, an inventive lover who could reduce him to a quivering lump of mush in bed, could harbor a prudish streak more suited to an old maid. In all the time they'd been together, first as friends then as lover, he had never know Jim to engage in "locker room" talk. "That bothers you. Why?" he asked aloud, the sudden need to know overwhelming.

"What?" Jim asked.

"You get all distant when guys start the macho bullshit," Blair explained, "What's so wrong about saying things like that, Jim? Guys say things. I'm just teasing, you know that." Jim frowned, looking away and the misery in his face made Blair sorry he'd let his sense of humor take control of his mouth. "I'm sorry, babe. I know you don't like talk like that. I guess my own days in high school are creeping back up on me," he shuddered. "I tried so hard to be one of the guys. I was two years younger so it was pretty awful, but I wanted to fit in."

Ellison caught his hand, holding it to his mouth for a kiss then sighed. "I wanted to fit in too," he confided. "My friends all talked about the girls they - they had but I just couldn't bring myself to be like that." He colored again, the blush reaching his ears this time. "It was like they had to prove they were - were men or something. All of them, pushing each other, bragging all the time." Jim shook his head, "it was just like talking to my dad." Jim adopted a deeper, stern voice, "Be a man. Never show weakness. You show them what you're made of, that Ellisons are real men. Don't you forget it.' How the hell was I suppose to forget it when he told reminded me every day."

"So instead of bragging like the others, you kept your mouth shut," Blair guessed, "and they all saw you as a stud anyway."

"Yeah, pretty much." Jim said, shrugging. "I dated every girl on the pep squad. In fact, I dated almost every girl in my class - once. I figured they couldn't compare notes on me after only one date. My friends," he paused, then went on, "the guys on the team, they were so full of shit. Anyone who wasn't manly enough for them - they made their life a living hell."

"My poor Jim," Blair said gently and traced a finger along the corner of his lover's mouth, then picked up Jim's hand, chafing at the now cold fingers. "If we had been boys together in school your friends would have given me a nasty time of it. I was two years younger and skinny as a rake. Man, I was such a nerd! We never would have known each other. The geeks and the jocks just never..."

"No! You would have found me! Any time, anyplace, you would find me, Chief. I know it!" The vehemence in his voice and the sudden, crushing pressure of Jim's grip made Blair gasp and drawn back. Ellison released his hand so quickly it dropped like a broken bird between them, but it took no effort at all to give it wing once again. 

Blair reached up, slipping his hand behind his lover's neck and pulling Jim's mouth down to his for a blazing kiss. When they pulled apart, the utter horror in Jim's eyes and the ashen hue his skin had taken on made Blair ache inside. "I was just being stupid, okay? WE could find each other on the moon if we had to."

This seemed to reassure Jim, he offered a tight smile then whispered, "I would never let anyone hurt you." 

"I know you wouldn't," Blair said. He feathered another kiss against Jim's mouth then purred, "let's go to bed," in his ear. Together, arms around each other, they climbed the stairs to the loft and undressed beneath each other's hungry gaze. Moments later they met in the middle of the big bed and when Blair started to push Jim over onto his back, Jim knocked his hand away, catching Blair's wrist and forcing it down.

"Huh-uh," he growled and used his greater strength to take the intuitive. A ripple of excitement plummeted down Blair's spine, blasting into his groin like a runaway train. Jim had never once in the year since they'd become lovers used his physical superiority in anyway which might make Blair's nervous, now he unleashed it like a whirlwind. Jim's mouth found his, capturing his lips in a kiss which bordered on painful. Short, fast breaths fanned Blair's cheek as Jim panted and small sounds broke from his throat, adding fuel to the flames of desire. Jim kissed with his entire being, his mouth merely the funnel through which his soul traveled. Both hands buried in Blair's curls, Jim filled him through their joined mouths, giving - giving and going on giving. Blair had already begun to buck and writhe beneath his larger lover and barely noticed when Jim caught his left leg behind the knee, holding it in the crook of his elbow. Spread wide, the entrance to his body open and waiting, Blair whimpered when Jim rubbed his weeping cock along the sensitive crevice of his ass. His own breath came in ragged gasps, whether from the pressure of his knee against his ribs or the raging passion Jim stirred within him, Blair couldn't tell. A moment later the searing glide of Jim's cock filled him - his body accepting Jim's love just as his heart did. 

It felt as if Jim would burst him wide open, and he welcomed the feeling, wanting to be ripped to shreds by they love they shared. Jim thrust into him over and over and Blair had to grab the railings above the bed or be shoved a few inches higher. He rode the crest of his lover's lust, wrapping his legs around Jim's ribs, heels digging into the solid muscle. They were both grunting and cursing, abandoning all pretense of finesse. It was wild and primal and when the tide of pleasure became too strong they lost themselves in it, both men coming with cries that left their throats raw. 

Blair recovered first, forcing his fingers to loosen their grip on the metal rail so he could run his hands over Jim's shoulders. He gently rolled his lover off him, soothing the tiny complaints which escaped Ellison's lips with kisses and gentle words. He used a corner of the sheet to clean them both up then pushed it away and covered them with just the blanket. It felt so good to be snuggled against the firm chest, their bodies warm and heavy from making love. He cupped Jim's cheek with his hand and smiled when lazy blue eyes blinked at him. There was no trace now of the darkness in Jim, it had retreated beneath the bond that they shared. Blair rubbed his thumb over Jim's cheek, "I love you. I'll never leave you." Ellison closed his eyes then, fitting himself against Blair and fell asleep.

Two weeks passed without Jim mentioning the reunion and then on a Monday after a long afternoon at Rainier catching up on things he'd put off as long as he could, Blair returned to the loft to find Jim in a rare mood. Puttering around the kitchen like some buff and balding Martha Stewart, wearing the flowered apron Blair didn't have the heart to tell him had been a joke and humming some 70's disco tune, Jim radiated good cheer. "Hey, Chief," he greeted, with a beaming smile. Blair snatched a kiss and a beer, shaking his head in resignation. The countertop gleamed like a mirror and the whole place smelled of pine scented freshness, sometimes sentinel standards were hard to take.

"You missed a spot," he teased, heading for the living room and the couch. He'd just dropped onto a cushion and opened his beer when Jim came in and settled on the arm beside him. Ellison looked at him with fond indulgence and Blair looked back in avid curiosity. Jim wasn't one for pointless elation.

"What're you doing Saturday night?"

Blair cocked his head, frowning as he thought the question over. "Well, I taped the season finale of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and haven't gotten to watch it yet..."

"She dies," Jim said and it earned him a glare.

"And I've been wanting to put all my books in alphabetical order..." Ellison smacked him on the top of the head. "Okay, all ready! What would My Lord and Master like to do?"

"I was hoping," Jim said, "you'd be my date to the reunion. I sprang for the whole package, Chief; dinner, dancing and a suite at the Cascade Renaissance."

"I better get more than dinner out of this," Blair said and pulled him down beside him. 

"You will," Jim assured him.

"Damn right. I want a corsage and not one of those mangy little wrist things either. I want one of those big ones."

"I'll get you an orchid," Jim promised. 

"You better," Blair said, punching Jim lightly on the chest. "I'm not a cheap date, remember that, Sport."

"Not cheap. Got it, Kemosabe." 

The week flew by and Blair, having grown use the Ellison version of the universe, a rigidly structured world where decisions were never second guessed, found the slipshod management now in place frustrating. He knew the source of his lover's nervousness and bit back his annoyance even when Jim changed his mind three times about the suit he would wear that night. "It's perfect, Jim," he soothed as his lover peered at his reflection.

"I don't know, Chief," Jim said with a shake of his head, "blue is so - so casual."

"Casual? That rag set you back seven hundred dollars, lover! I don't think custom tailored suits are ever called casual." Ellison scrutinized his reflection a moment more before meeting Blair's gaze.

"I guess you're right. So, you're wearing that?" Blair paused in the act of brushing out his hair and looked down at himself; gray trousers, white shirt and black suit coat. He thought his choice fine - dressy enough for evening but not too dressy. "I thought you were wearing the one I bought you for Christmas."

"Nah," Blair said, "I decided against it. That suit makes me look like some Vogue model. This one is fine. It's not my reunion so..." Ellison wore a horrified look. "What?"

"Sandburg, you can't wear that," Jim cried. "These people are my friends... well, use to be, I don't want them thinking you can't afford a suit. And for christsake wear your hair pulled back." 

Blair met his lover's reflected eyes, holding them a moment before Jim looked away. He saw fear in that gaze but resentment made him reckless. "Pull my hair back? Jim, how many times have you told me you like my hair down best of all?" Ellison shrugged. "Is there some reason you'd prefer my hair back, maybe so your old friends will see me as a scholarly academic and not some long haired fag, someone you could really just be roommates with?" He watched panic flood across Jim's face and felt something sad steal over his heart. He sighed, "I'll wear it any way you want, Jim," and turned back to the mirror to begin the task of tying it back. Strong fingers stopped him.

"You are so beautiful," Jim said softly. He turned Blair back to face him, taking both his hands in his and holding them lightly. "I'm sorry. I don't - I don't know why I did that."

"You're just nervous," Blair said gently and smiled. Jim gave him a grateful look then leaned in to kiss him. It was a slow, sweet kiss and as he drew back, Jim tugged the leather strip from Blair's hair, letting the mahogany curls spring free. He ran his fingers through the silken locks, before catching Blair's face between his hands. 

"I love you so much," he whispered and, feathering another kiss across Blair's forehead, left the room. Blair stared after him, blinking away the sting in his eyes before finishing getting ready for the party. 

The Class of 1980 began its reunion with hors d'oeuvre in the Villa Room of the Cascade Renaissance. "You ready?" Blair asked as they arrived before the big double doors. He could hear soft music and muted voices and by the look on Jim's face knew his lover could hear the gossip and innuendo already being batted around. But Ellison nodded and with a deep breath led the way inside. They were handed nametags and shown a chart of where they could find their assigned table. The decorating committee had taken the Spring Fling theme to extremes. Huge paper flowers seemed to sprout from every available surface and watering cans and white picket fences were the accessory of choice. Round tables had been set up on the perimeter of the room, each with oversized placards reserving the seats for specific alumni and their guests. Silent waiters and waitresses in dark slacks and white shirts made their way through the maze, offering drinks and canapés. 

"We're over there, Chief," Jim said and a firm hand in the middle of his back directed Sandburg towards the front of the room. They had to cross an open expanse of floor, cleared no doubt for dancing later, and headed for their table. A small stage held a podium with microphone and enlarged photos from the yearbook. Blair grinned up at his partner, nudging his ribs.

"You look good poster size," he teased. "I think I'm going to see if I can take those home." Ellison glared at him, making him laugh.

"Jimmy? Jimmy Ellison! It is you!" An attractive bottle-blonde in a low-cut gown stared at Jim as if seeing the Second Coming. Blair hid his smile behind his hand and enjoyed the horrified expression cresting over his lover's face. "It's Jenny - Jenny Carlise. We had Mechanical Drawing together."

"Jenny, yes, of course." Jim relaxed, smiling. "How are you? This is -"

"You have got to come see Kevin Brewer. I remember how much you two hated each other! You're not going to believe..." She began dragging him away. Blair laughed and waved, his last glimpse of his partner the besieging look thrown over Ellison's shoulder.

"Have fun," Blair whispered, knowing Ellison could hear him. Never at a loss even in a crowd of strangers, Blair amused himself by mingling with his lover's former classmates. By listening to conversations and employing the interrogation techniques he'd learned from hanging around cops, he discovered more in an hour about Jim's past than he had in two and a half years. "You don't say?" he gasped for the umpteenth time when informed Jim had once dived off the high board in the middle of the girl's swim class wearing only a jock strap and socks, he assumed the inevitable white athletic socks but refrained from asking. The image boggled his mind but not half as much as hearing that Jim had missed a month of senior year, and lost a chance to play college football because of an injury just before Homecoming. Blair circulated through the room, chatting with everyone, and eventually gathering a group of women to his side as he delved into his own history.

"...folklore mainly," Blair answered. His smiled and saw it echoed on each of the four faces gathered around him. Jim always told him he could start a lecture in the middle of the desert and have people listen and with the mixture of interest and curiosity in these women's faces spurring him on, Blair decided his partner might be right. "It's amazing how most cultures have similar themes in their beliefs and myths. Common threads can be found in almost any civilization. Take the concept of soul mates," he began and though he directed his words to the four women, Blair's gaze lifted to rest on the pair of eyes watching him from across the room. "Many of the great legends speak of souls formed together at the beginning of the world and life after life they seek each other out to join and be whole once again. If a person is patient and lucky," Blair said softly, "I believe he will find the other half to his soul." 

"That's beautiful," one of the women whispered.

"Yes, it is," Blair agreed and his gaze never left the man who watched him. "Excuse me," he murmured and slipped away from his admirers. With the tables ringing the room, the hotel had effectively created what would later be the dance floor but right now it was a kind of no-man's-land where waiters vied with knots of evening clad people for space to maneuver. "Come out, come out wherever you are," Blair sang, looking for the familiar silhouette. Halfway across the floor Jim appeared silently at his side, his eyes dancing.

"Hey, Sailor," he said in a sexy purr that ignited a spark of excitement in Blair's groin. He reached up, catching Ellison's arm and grinning. He would have liked to do more but the all too public forum and a piercing blast of electronic feedback prevented him from doing so. Jim flinched, shoulders hunching against the sudden stab of pain.

"Easy, Jim," Blair soothed. A nattily dressed man with silver hair and a determined look had climbed to the podium and was now thumping the microphone.

"Okay, everyone! Take a seat, please!" The chatter rose, then began to fall as people made their ways back to their seats. Blair took Jim's arm, he could tell by the lines around Jim's eyes that the noise and crowd were starting to get to him. He would have suggested bypassing the dinner and just going up to their hotel room for a little Saturday Night Nookie but as they neared their seats a beefy man, his suit stretched tight over his gut, caught Jim in a bone-crushing hug.

"James Ellison, as I live and breathe!" he boomed. Blair winced in sympathy, knowing the sheer volume of such a greeting must have set his lover's head to throbbing. They'd been placed at the largest table in the room and from the look of the men already there, Blair figured this one had been reserved for the 1980 Cascade Varsity Champions. The place markers were small photos taken from the yearbook, most of them football players but several cheerleaders mixed in as well. Spaces in between the alumni were marked with "guest", indicating where SO's were to sit. Other men stepped forward when the giant deposited Jim back on his feet, most of them approaching middle age at a run but several still in as good a shape as Jim. Ellison returned their exuberant greetings with back slapping and rude words, the prescribed ritual of male bonding playing out according to the rules. Several moments passed in a babble of catching up before spouses were finally introduced. When it got to Ellison he nudged Blair with his shoulder. "Tom Thompson," Jim indicated the big man, then slapped a short, blond on the shoulder, "Bill Jones - this is my partner," Jim's smile warmed, "Blair Sandburg."

"You're a cop?" Thompson asked.

"Uh, no, an anthropologist." He looked to Jim to see how they were playing it, but his lover's expression was unreadable. "I'm a consultant with the police force and I work with Jim."

There were murmurs of assent before everyone took their seats and the waiters began serving dinner. One place remained empty and when Jim glanced over and saw the name, he let out a low groan. "Don't tell me Pete Styles decided to come back for this?" The disgust in his voice made Blair lean closer to his partner. 

Jones and Thompson shared a look then the big man said, "I hear he's in town for some big venture his company is hoping to do. Maybe we'll get lucky and he'll miss this."

"Who's Styles?" Blair asked. Jim took a deep breath, forcing himself to relax before he said, "Styles was a thorn in my side, Chief. He was a bully and a sneak and he made life miserable for anyone who couldn't be bought with daddy's money. Some people called me Rich Boy but Pete Styles never let anyone forget he could buy and sell us a dozen times over."

"He would have, too," Jones added, "given half a chance" He turned to Blair, a frown drawing his fair brows together. "I have never seen anyone so jealous as Pete was of Jim. Whatever Jim did, Pete had to top and when Jim became captain of the football team - well, let's just say ol' Pete was upset."

"Shit," Thompson hissed, "here he comes." Blair turned to see a slender, dark man weaving his way through the crowd. He wore an expensive looking suit and the dazzle of diamonds sparkled at his wrists. Some people fawned over him as he stopped to chat with them others threw him murderous looks. He strolled up to the table and gazed over those seated there as if he were the shepherd and they his flock. 

"Hail, hail, the gang's all here," he chanted, smirking. Blair hated him on sight and the tension rolling off his lover was so thick it seemed to cover the table like fog. "Am I late?"

"We wish," Jones muttered. Styles seated himself with an imperious move, grinning at the women who watched his every move. A sense of unease crept over Blair, he moved a little closer to Ellison and hear the small sigh his lover made as the natural bond between them thrummed gently. 

"So you're Jim's date?" Styles asked with a sly grin when he caught Blair's eye. 

"His partner," Blair clarified. 

"Ah, partner." Styles managed to make the word sound dirty. 

"Leave it alone, Styles," Jim warned without turning to look at him.

"That's the old Jimmy I've missed!" Styles shot Blair a conspiratorial look and said just loud enough for the others to hear, "did you know your boyfriend is a real Galahad? He was always sticking up for losers, fags some of them.....ooops. excuse me, homosexuals I believe is the preferred term." The sly look returned to his face, making him look like a fox about to rob a henhouse. Blair, lips barely moving, whispered soothing words to his lover. He knew any second Jim would launch himself across the table and they'd end the night sitting in Simon's office being yelled at. "Jimmy likes to be a hero, he just can't pull it off when it counts."

"Not when you're there to see that he doesn't!" Bill Jones snapped. He turned to Blair, saying, "did Jim ever tell you why he didn't play the last few games of our senior year? He couldn't. In practice about a month before, he got sacked so hard we thought he was dead."

"It was bad," Thompson interjected. "No one really knew how it happened, but he went down and was out the rest of the season. Funny thing is, Pete and a few of his flunkies were closest to Jim and didn't see a thing. Styles ended up leading the team to the championship."

""Lucky me," Styles smirked.

"Lucky I don't crack your skull open with this desert fork," Jim said conversationally. Blair hid his grin. 

"Here's some advice for free," Styles said, leaning closer to Blair. "You look like a bright young man. Don't settle for second best, go out and find yourself someone with more potential." He reached out to pat Blair's hand but Sandburg caught his fingers in a move too quick to follow. With a jerk and a twist he had the man's wrist pulled back the wrong way.

"I can snap this like a twig," Blair whispered, his voice was a low, silky thread but the malicious gleam in his eye brought a gasp from Styles' throat, "but I don't want to cause a scene."

"Let me go," Styles demanded but Blair just looked at him. It was the warm hand which settled on his shoulder and the soft, "Chief" which made him release the other man. "I hear you have a busy day tomorrow, maybe you better make it an early night."

Styles glared at him, then rose to his feet and left without a backwards glance. "Sorry, Jim," Blair said quietly. "He won't make trouble for us, will he?"

Jim seemed to consider the thought for a moment then shrugged. "He's rich, powerful, a friend of the mayor and hates my guts. Why do you ask?" 

"Jim!"

"Kidding, Sandburg," Jim said. "Pete Styles is a sneak. He's too afraid I'll tell some of the things I know about him." A look of pure devilment danced in Jim's eyes and Blair laughed. They spent the rest of the dinner chatting and laughing with Jim's old friends but bowed out of the late night dance. Blair could see Jim didn't want to stay and he would much rather spend time alone with his lover than in a crowd no matter how much blackmail material he might be missing. 

They said goodbye to the friends Jim had once known and made their way up to the room they had reserved. "What are you humming?" Blair asked as the elevator rose.

"Hmmm? Oh, I don't know," Jim said, "whatever the band is playing." He continued to hum as they entered the room and a moment later Blair found himself swept into a tight embrace as Ellison danced him around the room. He was laughing and breathless by the time they tumbled across the mattress. 

Blair gazed down into the adoring eyes. "I love you," he whispered.

"Love you, too," Jim answered. He tugged at the dark jacket Blair wore, pulling it off before starting on the buttons of his shirt. "I feel like the Boy Most Likely."

Blair ravished his lover's mouth, delving into the moist warmth, before pulling back to brush delicate kisses over Jim's eyes. "Most likely to what?"

"To be loved for the rest of his life." 

Blair drew back, blinking rapidly. He could barely find the breath to speak but when he did he said, "and beyond."

The end.


End file.
